Fig. 3: In vitro study of the bioeffects of terahertz radiation on neuronal activity.

a Effects of terahertz radiation on the excitability of hippocampal neurons in SD rats. A1. Experimental setup to test the effects of terahertz exposure on hippocampal neurons; A2. Fluorescence results reflecting intracellular calcium ions after 5 min, 15 min, and 25 min of irradiation; A3. Fluorescence results reflecting intracellular sodium ions after 5 min, 15 min, and 25 min of irradiation. Reproduced with permission from ref. ⁴⁷, Copyright 2021, Chinese Laser Press. b Effect of radiation (0.06 THz, 185 mW) on pyramidal neurons in cortical slices of neonatal rats. B1. Schematic experimental setup used for terahertz irradiation of pyramidal neurons in cortical slices from neonatal rats; B2. Patch-clamp recording results from terahertz-irradiated cells. Reproduced with permission from ref. ⁴⁸, Copyright 2010, SPIE. c Effects of terahertz radiation on PC12 pheochromocytoma cells. C1. Experimental setup for terahertz exposure of PC12 cells; C2. Scanning electron micrographs of PC12 cells after 10 min of terahertz radiation exposure; C3. Images of neurite outgrowth after irradiation; C4. Quantification of axon outgrowth and neurite-bearing cell population. Reproduced with permission from ref. ⁵³, Copyright 2019, MDPI